Orfevre's running as a Runaway?!
The commentator's words might not have startled the average watcher, but it definitely shocked Ikezoe, who was anxiously watching from the stands. His gaze fixed on Orfevre, who was currently in the front group of the pack, and after contemplating for a moment, he realized what Orfevre was doing:
"No, this isn't a Runaway."
In Ikezoe's memory, Orfevre had tried every running style available to her, but the one running style she had never used again after trying it once was the Runaway running style. The reason was simple—Orfevre not having a late start was already considered to be an above-average performance for her, so how could she have had the strategic mind to execute such a tactically demanding running style such as the Runaway Style?
On further inspection, though she seemed to be charging ahead at full speed, the gap between her and the Pace Chasers was not very large. If Ikezoe's guess was correct, Orfevre should actually be running as a Front Runner now. That's right, a Front Runner, running just one level below the Runaway Style in terms of intensity.
As an Uma Musume capable of running long-distance races, Orfevre's stamina surpassed most sprint racing Uma Musume, but in terms of sheer power and explosiveness, she was still a tad weaker than them. Don't assume Uma Musume who only run sprint races aren't strong; on the contrary, their power is usually greater than most Uma Musume who run in medium and long races. Due to their lacking stamina, most short-distance Uma Musume make up for it by possessing terrifying explosive power. In a 1200-meter race like this one, it is almost guaranteed for a short-distance Uma Musume to win over a medium and long-distance one. This is also why there are almost no Uma Musume who can excel in both sprint and long races; these are two irreconcilable points.
And in a race with such a short distance like this one, which has a distance of 1200 meters, most of the Uma Musume chose tactics like the Front Runner style or the Pace Chaser style; almost no Uma Musume would voluntarily choose to be a Late Surger or End Closer. (T/N: With the exception of King Halo and Air Groove, of course)
But unfortunately, it seems like they still need more training, because an Uma Musume from the Gold Family is unmatched by anyone in terms of power.
"Amazing! Orfevre has managed to take a favorable position right from the start! Curren Chan has also rushed out and is now engaging in a spot struggle with Orfevre; number three is currently in the lead!"
"Ooo, she's not half bad," Mr. C.B. in the stands remarked with a slight smile, looking a bit surprised. "She's clearly not a sprinter, but she still managed to secure a favorable position despite it. Compared to her terrible late start during her Debut Race, she certainly looks much more skilled now."
"Hehe, Teacher, didn't I tell you? Orfevre is very strong," Seiun Sky said with a playful smile, seeing her teacher's opinion of her chosen rival's improvement.
"But she still has a long way to go, Sky. I'd say there's still a pretty big gap for her to catch up to you." Mr. C.B. glanced at her disciple, who seemed to be siding with the opponent, and then immediately added:
"The requirements to win a sprint race are completely different from mile and longer distance races. Unlike usually where you'd want to slowly accelerate more and more as the race progressed, sprint races demand you to accelerate to your top speed as fast as you can and then maintain as much of that velocity through the rest of the race. Longer-distance races would allow you to gradually find your rhythm, but sprint races don't offer that luxury; how good you perform would be heavily influenced by how good your start was. On this point alone, she has indeed managed to gain a decent advantage with her favorable position. But whether she can accelerate to her top speed quickly will be the deciding factor..."
Mr. C.B. spoke, but her words were caught in her throat before she could finish. Because as she spoke, the race had already progressed to the halfway point. And this brief yet intense race seemed to be nearing its finale at this very time.
"You're not half bad, Orfevre! I didn't expect you to actually keep up!"
Curren Chan watched Orfevre, who was only slightly behind her, and was surprised by her powerful adaptability. After all, despite never training for a sprint race before, Orfevre had managed to familiarize herself with the distance in an incredibly short time span, instinctively mastering the essentials of racing short-distance races.
Was this also part of her hidden potential manifesting? Curren Chan didn't know, but she could now feel the Aura emanating from Orfevre as they ran. Undoubtedly, this was the Aura that Orfevre had shown during her Debut Race! As Curren Chan saw Orfevre's anxious and angry emotions surge forth alongside it, she immediately knew her guess was correct!
Orfevre's "Aura" could only erupt through negative emotions! She was the complete opposite of other Uma Musume who performed better when they were in excellent condition; only in this kind of "terrible mood" could she unleash that potential of hers!
No wonder Onii-chan couldn't bring out Orfevre's potential no matter how he tried before. He probably thought Orfevre was a normal Uma Musume who needed to be trained through positive reinforcement like encouragement or praises. Ikezoe was wrong, terribly wrong. Orfevre wasn't an Uma Musume that could be understood by common logic. The reason he hadn't thought of this was because Orfevre had turned into an Uma Musume. If Orfevre was still a Racehorse, he might've thought of using a method like this, but she wasn't an animal anymore; she was now a living, breathing, sapient, and intelligent person. Thus, the idea of stimulating Orfevre's emotion through extreme training had never once come into his mind.
Unfortunately, not all Uma Musume perform their best when in a good mood; some Uma Musume are simply built different, for better or for worse.
"What's wrong? Scared now? The race has only just begun and you're already going to give up?"
Orfevre, once she entered race mode, also underwent a drastic personality change, just like Meisho Doto. Coupled with her already terrible temper and being provoked before the race, she now looked as if she had contracted rabies. But strangely, even with Orfevre looking so fierce, Curren Chan showed no sign of fear. Instead, she focused her attention ahead and said, word by word:
"Hehe~ that's a cute comeback. Now, Curren Chan's going to go all out!"
"—Do your worst!"
Orfevre's eyes narrowed sharply, and she roared fearlessly. Following their conversation, Orfevre and Curren Chan seemed to have copied each other; both of their muscles tensed to their absolute limit, and in the next instant, all their strength instantaneously burst forth all at once!
Also at this moment, Ikezoe in the stands suddenly saw those phantoms made out of Aura coalescing around Orfevre and Curren Chan!
"That is—" Ikezoe was slightly startled, but then realized that something was off and he subconsciously murmured, "Wait... when in the world could Curren Chan do that too?!"
"BANG!"
Like surging waves, both Curren Chan and Orfevre began their full-power sprint towards the finish with no holds barred! There was now only 600 meters to the finish line!
"HOLY! CURREN CHAN AND ORFEVRE ACCELERATED ALMOST SIMULTANEOUSLY! I REPEAT! ALMOST SIMULTANEOUSLY!!!!!!!"
"Both Curren Chan and Orfevre have passed number three! There is now a 1-length gap between them and everyone else! The result of this race hinges entirely on who wins between Curren Chan and Orfevre!"
"This is simply unbelievable! Orfevre, who only ran in medium races, is now competing neck and neck with Curren Chan, the prodigy who surpassed the likes of Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen for the duration of a sprint race in Tracen Academy's mock race!"
"Has Orfevre truly returned? Will she win this race and announce her comeback?!"
"She's actually keeping up with a sprinter in terms of pure strength?!"
At this moment, Mr. C.B. in the stands finally showed a hint of unease. Looking at Orfevre and Curren Chan, who had now left the rest of the pack by about two lengths, she turned to Seiun Sky and asked:
"Hey Sky, do you remember what her final spurt's time was during her Debut Race? There's no need to be specific, just give a rough estimation."
"Uh, well, I-I don't know either…"
However, Seiun Sky, upon hearing this, couldn't answer as she didn't really pay attention to it. Looking at her teacher, who had suddenly become nervous, she said somewhat cautiously:
"But I still remembered that Orfevre had managed to catch up to me relatively early on despite her late start. At the time, I thought she had accelerated early to make up for her late start, but she actually accelerated a second time during the final straight with her managing to beat me by one length..."
"A two-stage acceleration… So she can accelerate at least two times... And that also means that her first acceleration shouldn't be as powerful as her second one."
Mr. C.B. was an experienced veteran; even though this was her first time seeing an Uma Musume as unconventional as Orfevre, she still derived a relatively accurate conclusion from the limited information available. Just where in the world did this monster even come from?
At this moment, Mr. C.B. finally recognized the reason behind her sense of unease. She was actually feeling threatened by Orfevre. Orfevre, who was still in her Junior Year. For her to feel a sense of pressure from a Junior Year Uma Musume... The new generation of Uma Musume in Japan... truly are... becoming more and more terrifying…
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Rip number three, you were my GOAT.
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If you spot any errors, feel free to comment about it and I will fix it as soon as I can.